Why can't we make it easier to come here legally and harder to come here illegally?

[OtterMan68]

I'm the descendant of immigrants, and I think it should be as easy today to immigrate to the US as it was for my ancestors in the late 1800s as I'm not a hypocrite.

Why can't both GOP and democrats agree: make it easier for those who want to come, work, raise their family, and start businesses to come here legally while making it harder to come here illegally at the same time?

Too much anti-immgrant sentiment

Partisanship

Both of the above

Other

[NamerOfStars]

Because Republicans want cheap labor, Democrats want cheap votes, and both want a cheap political club to bludgeon their opponents with. Bluntly, there's not much incentive for them to work together to solve the issue, and a helluva lot for them to let it fester. As a bonus, they also get to create crises that voters *need* to "vote for me!" to save them from.

The Iroquois Confederacy's constitution, which heavily inspired ours, had a provision we were fools to not copy: if an official was found to not be doing their job, they would be warned and told to get to work. If they still refused, they'd either be removed from office or beaten to death with war clubs.

[LiamS95]

If you have a lot of money and are going to open a branch of a remote existing business or start a new business it's easy to move to the US or if you're a skilled doctor or ICU nurse snd have a US job offer it's sldo easy yo relocate to the US with a green card. But gor the average working Joe it takes years to get a citizenship.

[exitseven]

The immigration attorneys have a good lobbyist. They keep the process complected to boost their billable hours. There is no reason it has to cost $20,000 in legal fees to gin citizenship/

[BoopBoopBeep]

I work with tons of people who get citizenship for a few hundred bucks. It's $640 to process the application and 85 for biometrics (maybe 90 next year). Anyone paying 20k is getting hosed.

[exitseven]

@BoopBoopBeep I do not know anyone who has gone through the process in the last 30 years. I suppose the people you see in TV are the outliers

[OtterMan68]

@BoopBoopBeep www.cato.org/.../why-legal-immigration-nearly-impossible

[BoopBoopBeep]

@exitseven my ex's parents did it 8 years ago. they paid under a grand. My girlfriend from south africa did it for like 900 about 8 or 9 years ago. My coworker did it three years ago for less than $800. At my last job I had 6 coworkers who did it (one actually emailed a few months ago to say he's done now). Only one paid over a grand. I don't have TV I'm not sure which direction of outliers they're showing on there

@OtterMan68
Over 162,000 noncitizens adjusted status with CIS last year. It wasn't so impossible they couldn't figure it out. It's time consuming, sure. So are a lot of things in life.

[OtterMan68]

@BoopBoopBeep The diversity lottery: Diversity applicants have a 0.2 percent chance of receiving a green card, and because the lottery excludes the top origin countries for legal immigrants, a majority of the world’s population is ineligible to apply

[OtterMan68]

@BoopBoopBeep Employment‐​based self‐​sponsorship: These categories are only for those who are, in legal terms, “extraordinary,” have work of “national importance,” or can afford to make at least $800,000 in investments in the United States—not options for many.
Employer sponsorship: An almost insurmountable barrier of bureaucratic red tape restricts employer sponsorship, and these restrictions exclude nearly all workers without college degrees, while low caps will result in many applicants dying before they can receive green cards. Employers make only 1 in 1,500 hires through this system.

[BoopBoopBeep]

@OtterMan68
Well the night club gets to select who gets in the VIP line and who waits at the end around the block. This is no different. Feel free to pick a different country. Nobody is entitled to immigrate here or any other country, but nobody whines to Tokyo that they make it too hard to become a Japanese citizen.

[DextroShade]

Immigrants should only be allowed on if they can contribute to society and not be a drain on it. In nearly every other country you have to prove this to be let in, but here we are just taking in all these lovers who have no skills, can't speak English, and demand handouts! We have homeless citizens and veterans and they are putting these ducking illegals up in luxury hotels and giving them thousands of dollars, it's ridiculous!

[msc545]

Government agencies exist in part to make things time-consuming and difficult.

[BoopBoopBeep]

Truer words have not been spoken.

[exitseven]

Yes, Ronald Reagan said that the scariest thing you can hear is 'I'm from the government and I am here to help".

[NathanDavis]

easier to exploit illegals... that's what these people want

[gorydetails]

When you get serious about stopping illegal immigration we'll talk about legal immigration. And not a second before.

[OtterMan68]

When you're serious, we'll talk and not a second before.

[gorydetails]

I'm dead serious. What I'm not -- is ok with children being trafficked over the border -unlike you

[OtterMan68]

Border patrol comes across an undocumented minor they suspect is being trafficked - what would you suggest they do?

[gorydetails]

Find out where they came from and send them back.

[OtterMan68]

to the traffickers. Got it. So you just don't want children trafficked across the border. You don't care about what happens to them as long as they aren't in the US. How compassionate.

[gorydetails]

I said they should go back to their homes. Seems that's where they'd like to be. Then shoot the traffickers in the head.

[Dongie]

👏👏👏

[Dongie]

Those coming legally tend to vote common sense vs those sneaking in vote Democrat.

[OtterMan68]

illegals can't vote

[Dongie]

Says we.

[strateguy632]

otter even where photo id' is required they give driver license before real immigration process. awful. and demo-rat cancel id' law too!

[NaultD]

Racist people.

[strateguy632]

because it wouldn't help the problem.

[OtterMan68]

why not?

[jahaims]

It doesn't benefit the government